Miscellaneous News

Jeff Head · Jan 5, 2016

plawolf said:
5.1 earthquake near NK nuclear testing region.

Suspected NK nuclear weapons test.

They have announced that they tested their first H-Bomb (thermo-nuclear bomb).

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

AP said:
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, a defiant and surprising move that, if confirmed, would put Pyongyang a big step closer toward improving its still-limited nuclear arsenal.

A television anchor read a typically propaganda-heavy statement on state TV that said North Korea had tested a "miniaturized" hydrogen bomb, elevating the country's "nuclear might to the next level" and providing it with a weapon to defend against the United States and its other enemies.

The statement said the test was a "perfect success."

While a hydrogen bomb is much more powerful than an atomic bomb, it is also much harder to make. In a hydrogen bomb, radiation from a nuclear fission explosion sets off a fusion reaction responsible for a powerful blast and radioactivity.

In the first indication of a possible test, the U.S. Geological Survey measured an earthquake Wednesday morning with a magnitude of 5.1. An official from the Korea Metrological Administration, South Korea's weather agency, said the agency believed the earthquake was caused artificially based on an analysis of the seismic waves and because it originated 49 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kilju, the northeastern area where North Korea's main nuclear test site is located. The country conducted all three previous atomic detonations there.

Jura The idiot · Jan 6, 2016

Jeff Head said:
They have announced that they tested their first H-Bomb (thermo-nuclear bomb).

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

I've heard about it as item #1 of short radio-news at seven am here (and that station broadcasts mostly classical music)

Seoul, South Korea:

EDIT
(picture from:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

)

Jura The idiot · Jan 6, 2016

South Korea, world powers denounce North Korean bomb test

China, Australia and France have strongly condemned North Korea’s announcement of a nuclear test.

China, the North’s closest ally, says the reported test was carried out in defiance of the international community and urged North Korea to refrain from acts that might worsen tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says in a statement Wednesday that the action “confirms North Korea’s status as a rogue state and a continuing threat to international peace and security.”

French President Francois Hollande said in a statement that “France condemns this unacceptable violation of Security Council resolutions and calls for a strong reaction from the international community.”

Meanwhile, South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye has convened an emergency national security council meeting and is vowing a tough response to the North’s bomb test.

Park said at the start of the meeting that the government “must get North Korea to face corresponding measures based on close cooperation with the international community.”

She says: “It’s not only grave provocation of our national security, but also an act that threatens our lives and future. It’s also a direct challenge to world peace and stability.”

Park also ordered the military to bolster its combined defense posture with the U.S. military, saying South Korea will sternly deal with any additional provocation by North Korea.

She called for a swift, accurate analysis on the North’s claim to have conducted a hydrogen bomb test.

(I put the directly-China-related part in boldface)
source:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Blackstone · Jan 8, 2016

1) Complete economic development
2) Improve people's education and quality of life
3) Embark on social developments
4) Engage political reforms
5) Avoid items 3 and 4 until 1 and 2 are complete

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Taipei (AFP) - A woman derided as a "foreign bride" after her cash-strapped Cambodian family married her off through a broker is set to make history at Taiwan's elections next week.

Lin Li-chan is running for lawmaker in the parliamentary vote -- held alongside the presidential election -- and is expected to win, making her the island's first "new immigrant" legislator.

The term refers to those who came to Taiwan after the first wave of migration from China post-1949, when the island split from the mainland following a civil war.

"I had never thought about going into politics. In Cambodia, democracy was not a familiar concept," Lin, told AFP.

"It's unbelievable how life turns out."

Now 38 and a Taiwanese citizen, she was set up by her mother with a Taiwanese husband via a profit-making brokerage at the age of 20.

She moved from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to become one of Taiwan's tens of thousands of immigrant spouses, mainly from Southeast Asia and China.

Their vulnerability has been highlighted by abuse cases in recent years and Lin wants to draw on her own experiences to improve that.

"My father had passed away and my mother was struggling financially at that time. She decided to marry me off and the relatives on my father's side were angry, thinking she sold me to Taiwan," Lin said.

Eighteen years ago, Lin Li-chan moved from the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to become one of Taiwan& …
"'Foreign brides' like us were labelled as products and looked down upon."

Unable to speak a word of Chinese, Lin was wracked with homesickness but determined to adapt.

She picked up the language as she took care of her two children and helped at her husband's small hardware factory.

But when her children doubted she could help with homework because of her Chinese, Lin decided to go to college.

She went on to university and a master's degree before becoming an award-winning campaigner for new immigrants.

"I took my graduation robe to Cambodia when I went back to sweep my parents' graves and tell them the good news, and I cried," Lin said.

- Signs of progress -

There were more than half a million foreign spouses in Taiwan in 2015, with many marriages arranged by matchmaking brokerages.

Lin Li-chan (L) speaks with her friend after a meeting at the Education Ministry in Taipei (AFP Phot …
Demand for the service is partly driven because there are more men than women of marrying age in Taiwan, and more Taiwanese women are delaying marriage until later in life.

Taiwan banned profit-making brokerages in 2009 and allows only government-authorised organisations to provide international matchmaking.

The move came after a string of high-profile abuse cases including one of a Taiwanese man who enslaved and tortured his Vietnamese ex-wife for seven months. He was jailed for just four-and-half years.

Campaigners say the situation is improving and the term "foreign bride" is now deemed derogatory. But discrimination remains.

"There is still negative public perception that the women are bought and they come to Taiwan to make or con money," said Hong Man-chi, a spokeswoman of TransAsia Sisters Association, a support group for overseas spouses.

Some employers offer low wages or demand they work overtime without pay, Hong says, knowing they are unfamiliar with labour laws.

A number of politicians have also been criticised for making derogatory public remarks about the women.

"Lin's nomination symbolises some progress," adds Lisa Huang, a spokeswoman for Taiwan International Family Association.

"But it remains to be seen whether hers is an isolated case of success or an overall improvement."

Lin is number four on the list of "at-large" candidates for the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), seats allocated to a political party based on vote share.

At-large candidates tend to be political novices with expertise in academia or social advocacy.

With the party expected to win around 10 such seats, she is almost guaranteed a place in parliament.

Looking back, Lin -- who is still with the husband she married at 20 -- says she does not bear any animosity to her mother.

"I was a naive young woman and I didn't think too much about it. I just obeyed my mother's decision."

Now she wants her experiences to make a difference.

"I hope I can do more for new immigrants as a lawmaker," says Lin, who now considers herself Taiwanese.

"I think I have a mission to come to Taiwan... that a foreign woman who didn't speak or read a word of Chinese can go this far. I think it's fated."

Bernard · Jan 12, 2016

This doesn't sound good.... News story is still developing! So lets wait for more information

Pentagon: 2 Navy boats in Iranian custody; Iran assures crew will be returned promptly

The Pentagon said it briefly lost contact with two small Navy craft in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday but has received assurances from Iran that the crew and vessels will be returned safely and promptly.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told the Associated Press that the boats were moving between Kuwait and Bahrain when the US lost contact with them.

Cook says, "We have been in contact with Iran and have received assurances that the crew and the vessels will be returned promptly."

The White House said it is working to resolve the situation and return the crew to normal deployment, according to Reuters.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Equation · Jan 12, 2016

Bernard said:
This doesn't sound good.... News story is still developing! So lets wait for more information

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

So it's a rescue than. Seems like the two small Navy crafts had lost power to their engines and needed help or they got caught wondering off too close to Iran water territories off the coast. But only ten sailor altogether on board? Must be a SEAL team exercise.

Equation · Jan 12, 2016

Blackstone said:
1) Complete economic development
2) Improve people's education and quality of life
3) Embark on social developments
4) Engage political reforms
5) Avoid items 3 and 4 until 1 and 2 are complete

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Taiwan banned profit-making brokerages in 2009 and allows only government-authorised organisations to provide international matchmaking.

The move came after a string of high-profile abuse cases including one of a Taiwanese man who enslaved and tortured his Vietnamese ex-wife for seven months. He was jailed for just four-and-half years.

Campaigners say the situation is improving and the term "foreign bride" is now deemed derogatory. But discrimination remains.

So there's no women in Taiwan to married to even without a One Child policy of any kind or abortion favoring only the males? Time to bring in more immigrants from the Mainland or elsewhere even if it means diluting the purity of the Taiwan "race".

Jeff Head · Jan 12, 2016

Bernard said:
This doesn't sound good.... News story is still developing! So lets wait for more information

Riverine boats are small...but generally armed to the teeth, and fast.

If there were two and one started drifting, why didn't the other one tow it to safety?

Or, if things started getting dicey, why didn't the guys on the one get on the other and high tail it?

Something is seriously not right about this story. One day we will know what it is.

But it is crazy, and IMHO, generally stems from a serious perception of weakness and unwillingness to act that originates from the Oval office and is then been transmitted and communicated won the chain...and Iran sees it and is capitalizing on it.

After Reagan approved Preying Mantis, this type of thing was pretty much put a stop to for a long time.

Brumby · Jan 12, 2016

Equation said:
So it's a rescue than. Seems like the two small Navy crafts had lost power to their engines and needed help or they got caught wondering off too close to Iran water territories off the coast. But only ten sailor altogether on board? Must be a SEAL team exercise.

I just don't buy the engine breakdown story. Two boats simultaneously breaking down at the same time. Maybe the engines got lasered by the Iranians. Lol.

Jeff Head · Jan 12, 2016

Brumby said:
I just don't buy the engine breakdown story. Two boats simultaneously breaking down at the same time. Maybe the engines got lasered by the Iranians. Lol.
View attachment 23735

Exactly.

The initial stories may have been accurate in saying that one of them broke down...but I am suspecting spin (which this admin has done on too many occasions to recount) because when it became apparent that that simply could not fly, the suggestion now is that they both broke down simultaneously, which is even harder to believe.

Time will tell...but it may be some time.

Miscellaneous News

Jeff Head

General

Jura The idiot

General

Jura The idiot

General

Blackstone

Brigadier

Bernard

Junior Member

Equation

Lieutenant General

Equation

Lieutenant General

Jeff Head

General

Brumby

Major

Jeff Head

General